MU alumni, Columbia community come out for Homecoming Parade

Cora Smith, 6, and her sister Cate Smith, 3, rushed to greet Truman during the Homecoming Parade in downtown Columbia in October. Cora, who attended her first Homecoming Parade when she was 11 days old, said she was most looking forward to seeing Truman and getting candy. The girls' father, Cliff Smith, was an offensive guard for Missouri from 1995 to 1998.
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The crowd on Ninth Street watches as All-American Missouri athletes — including Kearsten Peoples of track and field, wrestler Drake Houdashelt, and Katrine Haarklau of track and field — pass through the Homecoming Parade.
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Will Elder, right, 6, shows off his candy to cousin Sam Reece, 6, while Charlie Elder, back, 3, continues to watch the Homecoming Parade pass through downtown Columbia on Saturday. The cousins were visiting from St. Louis with their families.
|Kholood Eid

The crowd on Ninth Street watches as the Missouri gymnastics team and a clown pass through the Homecoming Parade in downtown Columbia on Saturday.
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Axel Littlepage-Holmes, 7, of Columbia drums with City-Wide Drumline & Rhythm Band during the Homecoming Parade in downtown Columbia on Saturday.
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Jessica Hawk, whose skating name is Maimy Fisher, jumps over May Ling Butterfield, whose skating alter-ego is Kung Pao Kitten, during the Homecoming Parade in downtown Columbia on Saturday. The women are part of CoMo Derby Dames, the local all-female flat track league. Hawk is an MU alumna who graduated in 1999.
|Kholood Eid

COLUMBIA — MU Homecoming started off with a bang Saturday morning as the annual parade took off down Ninth Street.

Marching bands from around mid-Missouri, Missouri sports teams, local businesses and MU fraternities and sororities were just some of the many marchers celebrating the 102nd MU Homecoming. The parade started at 9 a.m. and drew crowds from Columbia and beyond.

Parade highlights included Marching Mizzou, which started things off with 'Every True Son' and the MU fight song, 'Fight Tiger,' and the floats decorated by sororities and fraternities as part of their annual Homecoming competition.

Each float was decorated to represent a different American city, from the extraterrestrial-themed Roswell, N.M., float to papier-mache Truman the Tiger riding on a horse on the race track in the Louisville, Ky.-themed float.

Parade as tradition

For lifetime Columbia residents and MU graduates Jessica and Michael Crews, the parade is a long-standing tradition. The siblings said they have been going to the parade for as long as they can remember.

"It's been ingrained in our blood to go here," Jessica Crews said. She graduated in 2008 with a degree in communication. Her brother, Michael Crews, said he wouldn't miss the Homecoming celebrations for the world. He graduated from MU in 2003.

Attending MU was a given for both siblings, whose father, Doug Crews, graduated from MU in 1973 and was president of the Mizzou Alumni Association in 2004.

Both siblings said coming to MU gave them a different perspective on the city they grew up in.

"When you live on campus, it's like a city within a city," Jessica Crews said.

Michael Crews said attending MU gave him a new sense of pride in Columbia. "We know the town but we're still enjoying it with all the other students," he said. "I'm proud to be from Columbia and proud to have gone to Mizzou."

Coming home

After spending eight years as a student at MU, Lisa Brennaman graduated from the School of Medicine in 2004 and moved to St. Joseph. But Brennaman, an OB-GYN at University Hospital, said she and her family moved back to Columbia in 2012 because she loves the city.

"We just really enjoy it," she said. "There's a sense of community."

Brennaman said her children, Jack, 7, and Lucy, 3, are big Tiger fans and enjoy the festivities of the parade.

For Brennaman, Homecoming is a time to celebrate her years at MU.

"I have lifelong relationships and friendships from my time at Mizzou," she said.

Becoming a part of the community

Although she graduated from Lincoln University in 2004, Columbia resident Dana Vaughn said MU Homecoming is a fun tradition for her.

Vaughn has three children who all love the parade. Her favorite part is the floats.

"I like seeing how creative they are (each year)," she said.

Although Vaughn isn't an MU graduate, she said she still feels welcome during Homecoming weekend. She said Homecoming is like "a big pep rally where everyone is interacting and the community comes out and supports all of the teams."